Do You Believe in Magic?
by redwalgrl-RG
Summary: AU College student Scheska needs a parttime job and stumbles into the world of magicians and whores, finding herself under the instruction of the magician Steel, a rather apathetic and ambitious man. What has she gotten herself into now?
1. The Job

**Do You Believe in Magic?**

**Chapter One: **** The Job**

Shut up. I've been craving this pairing for ages, it seems (more like a week, hah) and I can't find it anywhere. So my solution? Write it. I wasn't sure how to make it work at all, so I've decided to go alternate universe with the whole thing. Yeah, I'm good.

_Rating: PG-13 for now, but I don't know if I'll choose to up it or not. __So yeah.__ Look out in later chapters._

_Genre(s): Romance… I don't know what else. __Maybe nothing else.__ To be decided, I suppose._

_Original Characters: None_

_Out of __Characterness__: Hey, I'm trying, __cut__ me some slack._

_Spoilers: Nope. __AU._

_Summary: Central is the city of magic, is it not? College student Scheska is determined to make her way in the world, even if it means taking a meaningless side-job as a magician's assistant. But in a world deeper than she'd ever assumed, can she even survive her little encounter with the other magicians? And is there any hope for anything between her and her oddly apathetic boss?_

_Pairing: Archer/Scheska.__FOR THE WIN._

_Other: Yes, yes, I know her name is spelled a million different ways. This way is easier to type, so I'll be using it.__ And yes, I know I usually write from Archer's POV. Why change? Because I like Scheska, and felt the story would be better from her view. Shut up._

That should be all, so without hesitation, read and review. Thank you.

-+-

_Do you believe in magic_

_In a young girl's heart…_

"Auugh! I can't be late! I can't! Not today, not now!" Scheska, the typical Central University bookworm, was late, again. This was the third time this week, and of course it was for the same class. She should have known better than to schedule an hour lunch break, she always got wrapped up in her books and forgot about class. At least it wasn't anything important… Who needed to know how to work a computer anyway? She preferred handwriting. She barely skidded into class on time, apologizing profusely to the professor and hid in the back amongst her papers and books, as well as the computer monitor. And once again, she tuned him out and tried to sneak another few chapters out of the hour and a half class. Well, it was a rather boring class, she could learn everything from the book, and the teacher didn't even teach! It was a shame attendance was so highly valued or she'd skip class…

As a Senior, just trying to get through her last year, Scheska had to worry about payments to the university more than the actual classes. Her parents didn't have enough to support her younger siblings, and how was she supposed to do it all on her own? But of course Scheska would rather stick her nose in a book and pretend it didn't exist. That hadn't helped though, now she was desperate for a side job.

And so after class, she was once again out searching around the town for some sort of side-job. Really, she was getting desperate. She was a total klutz, so waitressing was out of the option. She couldn't be trusted to work in a bookstore, or anywhere near books or magazines at all, really. Retail was difficult, since she couldn't stand still without fidgeting, which had a tendency to bother her co-workers. So once again, Scheska was out of job ideas. But surely there had to be something.

Her wandering had led her downtown into the rather seedy area of Central, an area she hadn't been to before. Well of course curiosity won out over rumors, so she was interested in looking around, promising to back out on the first sign of trouble. The women walking the streets were surely older than they looked, wearing as little as they possibly could to show off their cleavage and everything else, really. Scheska felt out of place in her brown turtleneck and jeans. Well, she was out of place. She shouldn't be here at all, she wasn't interested in whoring herself out. She wasn't _that_ desperate.

But then something caught her eye, a bright flier stapled to a telephone pole. She approached it and examined the flier, talking about a magic show, staring a gorgeous man with dark hair and dark eyes, flanked by a pretty blonde assistant. There was nothing that implied that they were hiring, but Scheska felt drawn to it. She always had believed in a magician's magic, no matter what it was. Fantasy was one of her favorite genres of fiction, after all. Before she could tell herself otherwise, she was heading down to the building advertised, address already memorized. That photographic memory sometimes seemed to be more of a burden than a gift.

The building was empty, Scheska noticed that right away. It was a run-down little theatre with worn red seats, most a darker color now from age and use, perhaps. Scheska didn't want to think about what could have been done in those seats. Ugh. She really shouldn't be here, but curiosity was something that she just couldn't get rid of. "H-hello?" She hated stuttering, but she couldn't help but be a touch afraid.

She turned slightly at the sound of a small explosion, more than a little surprised when a cloud of smoke appeared and a man walked out, bright white teeth set in a nearly-cheesy smile. "Hello, dear. What can the magician Flame do to help you?"

Scheska stared up at him, finding him to be the man on the flier. The black hair was a little longer and ill-cut in comparison to the picture, but otherwise he did look very much the same. She assumed he was in his late twenties or so, judging by the slight wrinkles already appearing around his eyes he worked hard. Probably never got any real education. She would have sighed, but she was more than a little captivated by those lovely dark eyes. "Ah… ah…" She stuttered for a moment before pushing her glasses back up and ducking her head respectively. "My name is Scheska, I was wondering if you have a spot open for work."

"Work?" Flame repeated, tilting his head curiously. "Work, work, work… Hey Riza, do we have any available spots for workers?"

From the back came a shorter woman, still taller than Scheska, who appeared to be around Flame's age. Her blonde hair was worn loose around her shoulders, still applying makeup and wearing a rather skimpy costume in contrast to Flame's very formal attire. "What? Jobs? Try Crimson, he's always looking for workers."

"No, no, not him, he'd just rape you, dear." Flame stated, waving a hand airily, as if this sort of thing happened every day. It probably did. "No, no, I'd hate to just send her away, maybe there's something we have? Do we have anyone scrubbing the floors? Or maybe she can sew and can mend some of these seats…?"

Scheska would rather not touch these seats, thank you. But she didn't say anything, far too desperate for work to turn down anything offered.

"Oh hey, what about Steel? Didn't his assistant…?"

"Ooh, better not to bring that up, darling." Flame turned back to Scheska and held his hands out with a flash of that cheap smile. "Well, dear, it turns out there is another magician in the business, a personal… ah, _friend_ of mine, Steel. His assistant… _went missing_ a little while ago and he's been searching for another one of late. Perhaps I could introduce you two?"

_Went missing_? More like ran off, Scheska thought to herself, nodding slightly without realizing it. Maybe the pay wasn't very good? Or perhaps she just lost interest or something? Of course there was a third possibility, but Scheska really didn't want to think about that. After all, it would more or less ruin her perfect little world view. No, no, she wouldn't have killed herself…

"Good, good!" Flame stated with a clap of his hands. Scheska noticed gloves with a strange design on the backs, but she didn't get a chance to say anything before the man clapped his hands to her shoulders and turned her around, pointing her at the entrance of the building. "You'll want to avoid the building right across from us. That's the magician Crimson's domain. He's… not a very nice man, I suppose. You want Steel, he's straight out, down to your left, and it should be… the third or fourth on your right. I can't quite recall. If you hit fourth street, you've gone too far. Mmkay, dear?" With another pat on the shoulder, he pushed her forward a little.

"Ah, um, yes, thanks!" Scheska waved a little and scurried out, briefly wondering just what kind of an outfit Flame's assistant was wearing. Hopefully that wasn't the required outfit! She'd never wear something like that. Ugh! She made sure to stay as far away as possible from the building across the way, which seemed to be in the same state of disarray as Flame's. Further down the way just became even worse, with more and more whores, even a few pimps, or so she assumed. What bothered her the most were the young boys running around. She hoped they were just sons of the whores. She knew they weren't.

Finally she reached the building, finding it to be in a similar state of disaster as the other two. She pushed the door in, not surprised to find it open. Like in Flame's theatre, there were rows of seats, perhaps a dark color of some sort, all faded to a brownish-black that looked rather disgusting. She honestly hoped this wasn't where she'd be working. Who could even stand working in a place like this? Retail would be better, even though they had horrible pay…

"Excuse me? Hello?" She was more confident this time, perhaps because she knew what was coming. A puff of smoke, the sudden appearance of the magician Steel. Steel, what a strange name for a magician. Stage names were supposed to be interesting, of course, but this one was just… bizarre. Something she wouldn't have expected, to put it lightly.

This time though, there was no poof. There wasn't any dramatic entrance, in fact. Scheska jumped a little as the man she assumed to be the magician entered from stage left (or was it right? Scheska could never tell the difference). "Hello." He greeted simply, not the smallest hint of emotion in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

Well, straight to the point, that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe there was a bit of an optimist in Scheska, but she didn't want to see anyone in a bad light until it was literally forced down her throat. Okay, not literally. "My name is Scheska, I'm a student at the university… I'm looking for a part-time job. I was told that you are in need of an assistant?" Why was she doing this again? Just because fantasy and magic interested her? She knew this wasn't real magic… But it was still so cool, to say that she was a magician's assistant. Her mother wouldn't be too proud, but her little sister would be thrilled. Maybe she'd learn some tricks…

"An assistant?" The man asked, running a hand back through his perfectly slicked back silver-gray hair. In reality, she figured he couldn't be much older than Flame, though his hair gave the appearance of someone older. Prematurely gray, perhaps? "Did Crimson…? No, no, he wouldn't bother. Strongarm, perhaps? No, no…" He frowned, the first change of expression she'd seen on him. "Don't tell me it was Flame." Though there was no change in his voice, he certainly didn't seem pleased.

Scheska didn't answer though, unsure of what to say. He didn't seem to want to hear that it was Flame. But hadn't the other magician said that they were friends?

"Regardless… I haven't actually performed in over a month. My assistant… ran off a few weeks back and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement." He stated, back to the emotionless norm. "What makes you think that you can be my assistant?"

Well, she should have guessed an interview would be part of it. This was just a tidbit intimidating though, having her interviewer standing up above her and asking the questions down at her. "Well, I've never done this before, but I learn fast, and I'm willing to do everything I can to try to learn the ins and outs of this business." She paused for a moment, waiting for an expression change at least. "I've always been very interested in this… sir." Might as well add some respect.

That seemed to do the trick, for he nodded and finally walked off the stage, reappearing down the stairs on the side. "Scheska, is it?" He held out a hand. "My stage name is Steel, but you may call me Archer. I expect you to be here tomorrow at eight, we'll start rehearsals then. I expect you to know all your measurements as well."

That earned a weird look. "Ex-excuse me?"

"For your costume, of course." Archer answered, not looking in the least abashed for how she had taken the question. "Goodbye."

And with that, Scheska was nearly kicked out of the theatre, staring back in confusion. She'd gotten the job? Just like that? But what about payment? What about this costume? Didn't she get a say in this? But then again, this really was the only thing she had right now… Scheska nodded to herself. "I'll just try it. If I don't like it, I can always leave."

Hopefully.


	2. The Music

**Do You Believe in Magic?****Chapter Two: The Music**

It's been one day and I've got a pretty good reception to this fic. I'm pretty pleased, though two of you I already know on a personal basis. Regardless, here's some brief responses for the reviews:

Roxie-san: Thank you! I really wanted to try fantasy for once.

Ara Mei: Ed? Not really a big fan of him, but he may make an appearance eventually…

Dailenna: Thank you, but I hate summaries. XD Anyway, I'm still debating about the background Royai. Perhaps if you squint you'll see it. XD

Eden: RoyArch for the win!!

Limey: I would give you my evil plotting face, but hates the greater than signs. DX

Alright, a brief author's note before I begin chapter two. I really want to write this, but I also want to get some feedback. Yes, I'm a review whore, mmkay? Now then, if I feel it to be appropriate, then background relationships shall blossom as well. I am, however, avoiding EdWin like the plague. Sorry, kids. That's just something I'll never do. (And I promised that about Royai… jeez. I blame roleplays!)

Enough rambling, onto the fic.

-+-

_How the music can free her_

_Whenever it starts…_

It wasn't very often that Scheska actually looked forward to something that wasn't reading. But she found herself anxious about the practice, nearly missing class again out of daydreaming. Well, she really should be doing something more productive during that hour lunch break. But she couldn't help it, the fact that she might actually land a cool job was, well, overwhelming. The girl was all too quick to finish up with her homework and reevaluate her measurements (feeling really awkward about the whole thing and thanking her lucky stars that her roommate hadn't bothered to show up for the semester). Things could be worse, she reasoned. But really, this was so strange, that all this was happening so quickly. No matter, she'd just have to prove her worth somehow.

Measurements complete and written down on a sheet of paper, Scheska glanced over at the clock, reading the hands with a little bit of difficulty. She always did have a little trouble with reading the clock face, it was just difficult to tell the hands apart sometimes. Well, she had about three hours left until eight. That was a long time, and she was done with homework and everything… So of course Scheska pulled out her most recent book, a fantasy about a world where dragons and princesses ran wild, but this was the story of a princess who had to rescue a prince, a rather interesting twist on an old classic. It was humorous, but there were some strange things in there about the prince wearing dresses or something of the sort. Odd, but it was still a good book. After a few minutes, Scheska reached over again and turned on the radio. It was a secret habit of hers, to read as music came on in the background. It helped her think, oddly. She had several songs she associated with books, mainly songs that came on numerous times while she was reading the book. Since it usually only took her a week to finish a book, the popular songs would come on multiple times, giving her the chance to memorize and analyze how the lyrics corresponded to the text of the book…

It was rather complicated, but for a bookworm like her it was just the norm. She was recently interested in songs with a rather interesting beat, but no, it was all up-and-coming boy-bands nowadays. She wasn't really interested in them, but apparently there were wild and rabid fans for these groups. Well, that was their business, not hers.

Several chapters and an untold amount of songs later the bell tower not far from her room chimed and she realized belatedly that it was about seven thirty. "Ooh!" She was definitely going to be late now. So without time to change into anything else, Scheska pulled on her coat and shoes and fled out the door, making sure to have the paper with her measurements and locking said door behind her. With that, it was a mad dash down to the red-light district and past Flame's and Crimson's theatres, down the street and third on the right, Steel's. She briefly wondered whether to address him as Steel or Archer, and to her dismay found that she couldn't remember.

"You're late."

"I know, I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to be… I just sort of lost track of time," Scheska panted as she hurried over, removing her coat and holding it in her arms, not trusting the seats. "Oh!" She then fished around in the pockets of her jeans, coming up with the small paper, handing it over with a fiery blush.

The magician took the paper and eyed it over blankly, turning to stare at her unabashed, causing the blush to deepen. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Why did she always get that?

"Ah." Archer snapped his fingers and the paper disappeared in a puff of silvery smoke, the first 'magic' Scheska had seen him perform. "Very good then. I'll have the uniform ordered, it should be here by the end of the week, if not sooner." He then motioned for her to follow him and led her to the stairs on the side, not even waiting for her before walking to stand center stage. The lights weren't on, but even so it was rather threatening, just looking out at all those empty seats. "Don't tell me you have stage fright."

"N-no, of course I don't." Well, she never had, but Scheska also had never performed anything. Unless you call speeches performing, and she didn't. Scheska glanced around for a place to hang her coat, finally setting it down in the back behind the curtains, turning as Archer said something. "What, sir?"

"I wouldn't put it there if I were you," There was a slight hint of a smirk on Archer's lips and Scheska hurriedly picked her coat back up. "Oh please, Miss Scheska, do you honestly believe someone would have sex back here?"

"I-I… I never said anything about that!" She quickly protested, a little surprised by the odd display of emotion. He hadn't given off any emotion at all yesterday. That was odd.

Archer just shook his head, turning to gesture to behind stage right. "There's a coat rack back there. It's perfectly safe, I assure you."

She nodded slightly and walked to the back, looking around curiously. It was her first time back stage, and it was very interesting. The curtains, perhaps red, or maybe brown, were hanging from large hooks on a pulley system, she'd read about that of course. What hadn't she read about? Hanging her coat up, Scheska took a moment to look over to the doors in the back. There were three, a solid off-white one, one with a simple peeling yellow star, and the final with an equally yellow star, the name 'Steel' scrawled across it in some sort of handwriting script. His dressing room? She was tempted to go back there, of course, but quelled that urge and returned out to center stage where Archer was standing just as she had left him. "So… ah… what are we doing today?"

The magician's expression had reverted back to apathetic and his voice didn't even show a hint of emotion as he stated, "Practice. You won't get any better without it."

Well, yes, she knew that. But what exactly did he mean by practice? What exactly was expected of her anyway? And she still didn't know how much she was getting paid! But from the serious expression on his face, she decided to figure that out later. "So… will you be teaching me any tricks?"

"Tricks?" He repeated, incredulous. "Miss Scheska, this is a very serious business. We do not call any of these 'tricks.' That implies simplicity, that implies that this is _easy_. I assure you, miss Scheska, this is not easy." He held his arms out, shaking both sleeves and revealing them to be easy, then reached up his left and pulled out a thin cane, testing it briefly for sturdiness. "Perhaps you've run across fakes before, but this," He took the sturdy cane and twirled it back and forth between hi s hands easily, followed by bending it easily in half, "this is something else entirely."

Scheska watched, amused, but certainly not believing that this was real. Sure she was a romantic in love with the idea of magic, but it just wasn't real. Everyone knew that. She didn't say anything though, not wanting to interrupt his little private show. He seemed so perfect and prepared for this. Practicing before she arrived, probably. Naturally a little show would win over an assistant, right?

"Examine." He held the cane out to her, now back in the firm form it had been in when he pulled it from the sleeve of his shirt.

She took it, attempting to bend it, surprised to see it was made of solid metal, painted black and gold at the tips. "What is this?"

"Ah ah," He scolded lightly, taking the cane back and pressed a hand to either in, pressing down and in, causing the metal cane to explode in a shower of silvery sparkles. "A magician never reveals his secrets. Not even to his trusted assistant."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as sarcasm…" Scheska mumbled, more to herself than to him. But he wasn't paying attention anyway, turning around for a moment before returning to face her, holding a small radio. "You see, unlike other magicians, I'm rather fond of music. Each one of us has our call to fame. Flame, for example, deals with fire. Obviously my expertise is metal, not specifically steel. In fact, I prefer magnesium." With that, he retreated to the back of the stage, setting the radio down and messing with it for a moment before the music came on.

"This station?" Scheska was more than a little surprised when her usual station came into play, a brief commercial, cutting back to the music. "Why this station?"

Archer took a few steps before turning back around, moving into a graceful bow before holding out a hand, halfway up. "Practice, miss Scheska. Join me,"

It was somewhere between a command and a request, and Scheska found herself compelled to join, taking his hand a bit nervously. She did notice he had nice hands, extremely pale, but nice. She had expected callused hands, from hard work. Didn't he have another job? But no, smooth hands leading down to perfectly cut nails, complete with skin so pale she could see blue veins running up and down here and there. Interesting. Scheska always did notice the little details about a person. Suddenly she felt a hand on her hip and Scheska jumped away, immediately defensive.

"Ah, I see you haven't ballroom danced before." He stated, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Allow me to teach you."

That was more of a command. Scheska once again nodded and returned to his side, reaching up to press a hand nervously to a broad shoulder, other hand in his, his other hand on her hip. She briefly thought about the tango, a very romantic dance, she'd heard. This was a little much wasn't it? This wasn't meant to be romantic though, no, not at all.

It seemed as if the radio was destined to defeat her though, for a rather sappy love song started played, earning a soft snort of disgust from the magician. Scheska almost laughed at that. Well at least she wasn't alone in the opinion that this was a bit much. But that certainly didn't mean that Archer was going to stop, no, he started leading her with a grace that was almost too perfect. Scheska wondered where he'd learned to dance like this.

She was clumsy of course, never having danced like this. But she noticed no expression change from him even when she oh-so-politely smashed his toes through the oddly nice shoes. There was just something off about the whole thing, why a man who seemed so _elite_ would be working a job like this. If he was set enough to know proper dance etiquette, then why wasn't he in a high-class mansion on the other side of town?

The song finally ended and Scheska found herself stopped, hand still on his shoulder, other hand still in his. She noticed a little belatedly that he'd led with his left foot rather than his right, leading to more questions that didn't have answers. "The song is over."

"Oh," She quickly let go and backed up a bit, a flush of embarrassment to accompany her hasty retreat. "Sorry, I…"

"It's perfectly fine." He nodded slightly and then added rather bluntly, "It seems I have my work cut out for me."

"Hey…" Scheska took offense to that. Sure she wasn't the most graceful, but they weren't about to ballroom dance up on stage. "I don't see why this is part of training."

"Grace, miss Scheska." Archer nodded slightly, turning to the back and snapping, the radio clicking off easily. "You see, my assistant needs to be graceful, eye-catching, and attentive. I won't say a single command, you must learn to read me like a book."

_As if I'm not already trying that._ Scheska nearly snorted. "Yes, sir."

"Please, just Archer."

"In that case, then just Scheska." She retorted, though of course it was cautiously. There wasn't any reason to be mean to her new boss, and besides, Scheska wasn't the sort of person to be mean without a damn good reason.

"Now then, about your glasses…" Archer started, walking back over and bending slightly to reach her eye-level. "They'll have to go. I'm sure your eyes are lovely without them."

"Oh, my, I couldn't…"

With that, he neatly snatched them off her face and examined them, a slight hint of disgust by how strong they were. "Scheska, I will also order you contacts, don't worry about the charges, I will take care of it." He paused for a moment and then smiled slightly, barely visible to the nearly-blind Scheska. "You really do have lovely eyes."

"Give me back my glasses!"


End file.
